Pale Dreams
by DeadManDreaming
Summary: The good hunter had done the inconceivable, and transcended far above both humanity and the Great Ones alike. Now an untold amount of time later, he awakes to an infant universe. Wishing to be human once again, the hunter enters the dreams of the Soul King, and therefore the world of Bleach. He'll lend his strength to Ichigo Kurosaki, after all, he is sympathetic by nature.
1. Chapter 1

**AN**

** Yes this is an author's note, and no these top ones will be quite short so have no fear there.**

**I'm slapping down my obligatory "First Story" bit here to get that out of the way as well, but I hope this fact by itself is not a turn off and I implore you to give my little brain child here a read.**

** I would also like to warn you all now that I am a fan of gradual story telling rather than exposition dumps, but I respect the fact that some people like to actually know what the hell is going on, so I'll be placing small clarifications after the story in a kind of spoilers section. Lastly, I will be taking priviledges with the lore of both universes to have the story be more cohesive, but there will not be a large divergence from how the magic systems and etc work in these universes.**

**Disclaimer: Bloodborne and Bleach are not owned by myself, but this story and the characters I create are mine and mine alone.**

* * *

Sleeping Above Reality

He felt it at the center of his being. That ripple of unfathomable creation that alerted him to the fabrication of another reality.

The good hunter stirred in the vastness above everything and awoke for the first time in, well, he wasn't sure. As the emptiness around him refused to take note of his awakening, he took in his own being. A time before this one, he was human, but no longer. The part of him that was closest to human screamed out that he was a Great One, having usurped the power of the three-third cords, and yet he knew this to be false as well. He was more than just one or the other, and he himself was unsure if there was another being that existed in the way he existed, that is, above existence itself.

The hunter vaguely remembered a mother. She was a fake mother, in every sense of the word, but she was warm, and she did watch over him until he reached his full potential. Taking note of the emptiness around him, part of him felt at peace. There would be no more secrets, or forbidden knowledge if he remained here, after all, what did he care for the secrets of lesser beings, who could barely grasp the shadowy light between the stars?

Another part of him, the human part, screamed in protest. This infinite catharsis was a prison. He wanted to feel. The hope that the sun's rays brought when they shone on his face. The beauty that dumbfounded him when the moon lit the land with an ethereal shimmer. He felt this yearning, the yearning to feel again. To feel human again. And as he was, could that be so far out of his power? He simply needed to dream, to let his consciousness fall into existence, and manifest itself into the dream of another being.

The ripple that awakened him, the new dream of a powerful being. He moved his being from his physical form, and allowed it to ride the winds of the cosmos down to the dreamer. The hunter observed the dreamer. It was encased in some sort of crystal, of this he was certain, but within the crystal the being resembled a human missing it's limbs. He peered into the dream of the crystal man, and saw he did indeed dream of humanity and more. Hungry, empty husks, humans that could wield weapons of light, and souls, that gained the power to guide others like them.

This world interested the hunter greatly, and as he viewed in from a higher plane, he saw a shining light. The potential for greatness and maybe, even transcendance. He felt the will of this human, this dream, and he made his decision. Here, in this time and in this place, he would enter the dream.

Now, how to go about doing this? The hunter mused. He should arrive as human, but then again, could he maintain this heightened understanding while simultaneously manifesting as a human being? The simple answer was no, but the simple answer came with a simple solution. He would simply forget himself. Become the hunter that he used to be before all this. Back when he roamed the streets of the blood drunk Yharnam.

And so, he entered the dream, and was once again human.

James stood in the middle of a small Japanese town called Karakura. Not that he knew that, of course, but he was certainly aware of it's shocking contrast to the streets of Yharnam. The first thing he noticed was that he was wearing his regular hunter attire, tri-pointed hat and all. His grey eyes stared out at the street he was standing on. Night had fallen, and as he stood under a street lamp he realised another thing. He was completely and totally unarmed.

"Figures," he mutters to himself.

Before James can get his bearings, however, a rather unsettling cry echoes through the air. He knew exactly what this was of course. A beast. Yet the cry was different, hollow even. But, deprived of weapon and objective, James knew what he was supposed to do, after all, he recalled, a hunter must hunt.

After getting lost a few more times than he would like to admit, James decided to take the high ground for a bit of reconnaissance. While doing this, he discovered that, to his delight and confusion, he was much more physically capable than he was before, leaping up to the roof of a building with blinding speed. He suspected this had something to do with the fact that he wasn't really human, but… how was this so? He remembers a feeling of intense longing, and finally satisfaction but for what? Something in the depths of his mind told him that this was what he wanted, to be in this place at this time, and despite the feeling being alien to him, it also felt unquestionably right that he be here.

The chilling cry echoed out again, snapping James out of his thoughts. Adjusting his hat and collar so that they would not be tousled, he began again to move at high speeds towards his quarry. Upon arriving he took a moment to observe the beast. It took the appearance of a humanoid with gray skin, which would have stood at double his height had it not been crouched on all fours. Two more notable features he felt were the bone mask it wore, as well as the hole that ran all the way through the creature's midsection. Interestingly enough, it did not seem to care about this glaring feature in the slightest.

"You are an odd one!" The hunter called to the beast.

The hollow turned to face the human. Originally it was going to have to look for a meal, but it seems that one has simply walked straight into it.

The hollow approached the human slowly, and upon coming within range took a casual swipe with the purpose of pulverizing this morsel.

The hunter stepped gracefully around the swipe, coat fluttering behind him from the movement. He let out a small sigh, and wished that he, at the very least, was in possession of one of his firearms. While visceral attacks were considered to be a rather dark skill to employ for any hunter, none could argue it's effectiveness. And just like that, with a blue glow, the Evelyn appeared in his left hand, like it had been there all along and James had simply forgotten about it.

For a moment, the good hunter was utterly baffled and transfixed by the weapon that had materialized in his grasp. He admitted to himself that stranger things have happened to him, but it didn't make the sudden appearance of his pistol any less surprising.

The hollow roared in frustration at the hunters sidestep, and swung again, with more ferocity this time. Coming back from his thoughts for the second time that night, the hunter swiftly raised his pistol and placed a shot directly into the beasts chest. With a howl, it reeled back, but James was far beyond the speed of the hollow, knifing his hand into it's mask, shattering it, and causing the beast to fade into small particles.

The hunter stood there a moment, before gazing down at his pistol. Could he, perhaps, call upon the entirety of his arsenal in the same way? First however, he willed the Evelyn to return from where it came, and the gun obeyed, fading into a mist of cosmic shadow. Before he tried for another weapon however, there were more pressing matters to attend to.

Eyeing an alley over his shoulder, the hunter called out, "reveal yourself!"

And reveal themselves they did, as a black cat slinked out of the shadows and into the street opposite of the hunter.

"Ah, sorry little one, I suppose this new scenery has me a bit paranoid," James said.

With a tip of his hat he introduced himself to the cat, but the feline just sat there and observed him.

"I am trying to be polite, but I must tell you that I know you are more than you seem," He told the cat, "I am well versed with both mysteries and beasts, and you are most certainly not the latter."

The cat seemed to stiffen at his comment, and was turning to move away when he called out again.

"Please, I mean you no harm! If you will not speak with me, is there another that I might talk with?"

The black cat gazed back at him, yellow eyes searching his grey ones. With quick swish of its tail, the cat sped towards him at a faster than a human eye could track, and mounted his shoulder. The cat regarded him with interest from his new position, and then mewed lazily as it gazed off in the direction it most likely wished for him to journey in. More prominently however, the hunter was surprised how pleasant it was to have a companion, even a temporary shoulder cat. He regarded it once more, then set off down the night time streets of Karakura.

* * *

**AN**

***Fair warning, this next section is for those who desperately seek answers and may contain spoilers, if readers (if any) despise this with a passion, comment or Email me about it and I'll put the axe to it***

**So, the good hunter has returned from his long slumber. I'm continuing the story of Bloodborne after the events of it's "third ending" where in the player character becomes a Great One. The divergence from this is the fact that I am considering the good hunter a combination of human and Great One, therefore being something greater than both, a truly transcendent being.**

**For those who can't stand the mystery, the ability for the hunter to call and banish his old arsenal of weaponry comes from the fact that he is technically a higher being projecting a human form into a Great One's dream, thus, he has a minor amount of reality manipulation. He does not know this of course, due to his mind not really being able to comprehend his true form currently, so he will be regarding it as a nifty ability mostly.**

**Thank you for reading,**

**DeadManDreaming**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN**

**Oh, a new chapter!**

**Please, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Disclaimer: Bloodborne and Bleach are not owned by myself, but this story and the characters I create are mine and mine alone.**

* * *

Orange Hair and Funny Hats

James stood outside what appeared to be a little candy shop. Nothing supernatural like the transformed students at Byrgenwerth, or the frost that covered Cainhurst. He looked down at the cat, who had begun to strut their way over to the door.

He wasn't just a nut who talked to cats, right?

Before the feline had a chance to mew, the door swung open revealing another peculiar sight. A man with a funny hat and large wooden sandals. He looked at the hunter with a cross between carefully concealed paranoia and an air of goofiness that came with his look. The suspicion did fade a bit when the striped hat man saw the cat.

"Well, well, been a while since you've brought a boy over, Yoruichi."

"Not now Kisuke, this kid's something different."

James frowned in confusion for a moment, before subtly checking over his shoulders, as well as past this 'Kisuke' character, and into the shop. His bafflement did not seem to go unnoticed by the cat, however.

"Down here," came a deep, irritated voice, "the cat can speak, yes, now, you said you had something to discuss?"

The hunter tugged his collar up a bit higher. He had encountered far stranger things than cats that could speak, (a certain man-headed spider came to mind) but he was at a loss for words at the feline, well, actually, Yoruichi, who just proceeded to walk into the shop.

"We can hardly have a discussion out here, come on in and have a seat at the table," Kisuke gestured past himself and into the store, "name's Urahara Kisuke, by the way, and I am very interested in you my new friend!"

James made his way over to the table and, much to Urahara's dismay, refused to remove his boots.

"C'mon, not in the shop! I'll have to get someone else to clean it up later!" he whined.

The hunter leveled his eyes with the shopkeeper, but Yoruichi stepped in before he had time to retort.

"Let's get this moving Kisuke, you can't let Jinta watch Ichigo in the Shaft by himself."

Urahara, who the hunter had now decided was quite the eccentric man, suddenly sobered up rather quickly, surprising James yet again with his unexpected seriousness.

"You're obviously not a hollow, or any type I've ever seen, and you're definitely not a shinigami," Urahara deduced, "So why are you sitting in my shop right now?"

"Straight to business I see," James spoke, "But I can only tell you what I can remember, and that's not much in the way of anything."

"Well don't keep us in suspense," Yoruichi quipped.

"I'm here to help a boy, a human," he said, "I think I saw a potential in him before I ended up here, before I ended up human like this."

"So you're not human?" Pushed Kisuke.

The hunter's brow furrowed in concentration as he struggled to comprehend what he once was. Echoes of a beautiful emptiness above all else sat in the back of his mind, and whispered, "_more than god and man._"

"Some sort of… god? At some point? I am truly sorry, but I cannot recall my past. Is there another way I could prove myself?" The distraught hunter inquired. He had already lost pieces of his memory, he wasn't sure if he could bear to lose his purpose as well.

Suddenly, Urahara's smile was back up to full glow, as he materialized some kind of fan from seemingly nowhere.

"I have a little something in mind," he stated, giving the hunter a friendly pat on the shoulder before walking over to a loose looking segment of floor, and flipping it open to reveal it was a hatch leading to a sub level of the shop.

"Follow me!" He said, hopping down.

James frowned behind his collar. How in the world could he prove himself to be amiable in a cellar? Peering over the lip however, he was greeted to a dizzying drop and a rather large ladder. Suddenly a small force slammed itself into his back. Just before tumbling into the hidden room, he had a very important question to ask.

"Patches?"

Nope, Yoruichi. The deep chuckle gave it away.

The hunter barely had time to pull himself off the ground before Urahara launched into a rather self-aware spiel.

"Gosh! I wonder how this got down under my shop?" He wondered loudly.

"You already used that joke on me you bastard!"

Urahara flinched at the voice coming from yet another hole in the ground. The hunter peeked over the lip of this one as well, with extreme caution of course, and spotted a head of orange hair attached to a boy whose hair colour definitely matched his personality.

"Who's this guy then?" He called up grumpily, "another one of your annoying employees?"

Urahara strode to stand next to the hunter at the side of the Shattered Shaft and gazed at Ichigo with worry masked by a healthy dosage of mirth.

"Better hurry on up and get your powers Ichigo! That chain of yours is starting to run shy a few links!"

"When I get out of here I'm gonna kick your ass Hat n' Clogs!"

"Oh my, no need for violence Ichigo!" He mocked behind his fan.

Urahara turned back to address James, ignoring the profanities attempting to climb their way out of the Shaft behind him.

"Alright Mr. Tall Dark and Quiet, here's how you can prove you're not out to get me." He pulled a timepiece out of his robe and backed up a few feet.

"Catch Yoruichi-"

"Wait, Kisuke-" the cat protested.

"As fast as you can."

James was baffled finally to the point of speaking.

"How the hell does chasing Yoruichi around-"

"Starting now!" The eccentric shopkeep grinned.

Without much else to go on Yoruichi took off in the blink of an eye. James was reeling from the sudden burst of speed, but began his pursuit soon after. He spotted the cat standing out in the open some distance from himself, and with a speed honed from countless hunts and further enhanced by this strange world, he launched himself straight at Yoruichi. And ended up with a handful of sand and a cat on his head.

"I don't suppose that counts?"

"With your hands James!" Urahara called.

Yoruichi was off again, and a repeat of the previous clash happened twice more, with James becoming slightly closer each time.

A plan, James thought, I might be slightly slower, but a good mind game and, well, the cat's in the bag.

He sped towards Yoruichi again, but instead of lunging for the cat, he smashed a clawed hand reminiscent of a visceral attack into the ground, kicking up dust. On instinct, Yoruichi leapt straight into the air and into the hunters trap. The reasoning was, 'what goes up must come down.' Apparently, and to James' complete and utter bafflement, Yoruichi was flying. Well more like standing on air, but come on.

"Ah, yes, of course, the talking cat can also fly," he muttered, then a second later, frustration got the better of him and he tore off his hat and spiked it at his feet.

"Like hell!"

Urahara chose to step in here. He had obviously been laughing seeing as he was clutching a stitch in his side and was wheezing.

"Alright you two, good sho- work! I mean work"

James was contemplating hitting him with the kirkhammer, but it seemed that Yoruichi had beaten him to it, and was currently clawing at the man's face.

"Damn you Kisuke! Now my fur is covered in dust!" he seethed.

"I thought you liked tag!"

"I can't enjoy it when you drop it on me like that!"

James stood back and enjoyed the striped-hatted man being torn to shreds. He could anticipate Yoruichi and himself getting along just fine.

Finally managing to pry him off his head, Urahara plopped Yoruichi back on the ground.

"Now then," he said, somehow ignoring the angry red scratches on his face, "I have one more little test for you!"

"I'm starting to think your trust isn't worth it Urahara."

"C'mon, don't be like that! This one is great, I promise!"

James dusted off his hat and placed it back on his head, covering up his coal black hair.

"Out with it then."

The shopkeep hefted his cane (which James had neglected to notice up until now) and pointed it at him in challenge.

"How about a sparring match?" he smiled.

* * *

**AN**

**All in all a straightforward chapter (mostly set up to be honest with myself). Expect the story to become more opaque when discussing the good hunter's cosmic heritage and what that implies. Other than that I don't like to go too far up my own ass with that stuff. Using too much makes it rather dull and skip-able instead of the fascinating mystery it's supposed to be.**

**Again, any and all feedback and criticisms of the author notes (and of course the story) will be taken into account. I understand how annoying ****AN** **can be sometimes.**

**Lay it on me, I got thick skin.**

**Thanks for reading,**

**DeadManDreaming**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN**

**Welcome! I hope the story is tickling your pickle, so to speak. **

**Please, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Bloodborne and Bleach are not owned by myself, but this story and the characters I create are mine and mine alone.**

* * *

The Blades of Mercy

James was shifting uncomfortably, Urahara's cane nearly poking his nose. Surely the green-hatted man wasn't going to duel a hunter with a stick? James was unable to make sense of his current situation when Urahara suddenly called out a phrase.

"Nake, Benihime!"

When a burst of what could only be described as raw power kicked up a sudden gale, the shopkeeper's cane turned into a blade. James' first instinct was to call it a trick weapon but the transformation was obviously something more akin to arcane than a mechanism.

"I assume your bafflement was about my cane?" Urahara teased, "Should be no issue now though, right?"

"None at all," Said the hunter.

Suddenly Urahara made a quick slice at his abdomen and the fight was on. The hunter was about to make a remark about not allowing him to draw his own weapon when he realized that the man most likely assumed he didn't use one.

This could be used to my advantage. James strategized. I'll see if I can make out a pattern before going in, however.

Gracefully weaving and stepping around Urahara's slashes, the hunter got a feel for the length of the blade and the speed at which it was swung. He bobbed under a stroke meant for his throat and sidestepped into the green man's guard after a hasty thrust. A swift elbow to the chin followed by a heavy palm strike to the chest sent him staggering back.

"You're a slippery one," Urahara remarked. He looked amiable enough still, but there was a newfound caution underlying his stance.

James just shrugged.

"You're not as fast as the cat."

The hunter was put on the back foot however when the shopkeeper started blasting at him with energy waves reminiscent of the moonlight greatsword.

I suppose I've seen most of his tricks at this point, the hunter reasoned, and I have the perfect weapon for him.

James hid the blue flash under his coat, and began to swiftly close the distance between him and his opponent. When he got within striking distance, the curved edge of the blades of mercy snaked out of concealment and left a shallow gash on the blonde man's chest. Not to let go of this advantage, the hunter swiftly detached the second blade from the first and made several more cuts on the man's arms and chest before the shopkeep used the same high speed technique as the cat to get away.

Urahara was left panting a few meters away, eyeing the dripping edges of his opponent's blades.

James began to stalk towards Urahara at a leisurely pace, blades out to his sides.

"Come closer," he requested.

The shopkeep's eyes narrowed at this request, and for a second it looked like he would fall for the hunter's goading, but he swiftly covered it up with a grin, turning his sword back into a cane.

"I think I've gotten enough cuts," he chuckled, "besides, I have all the information I need to decide whether or not we can trust you!"

The hunter was impressed. He thought that he was the one doing the analyzing, but it appears that the blonde man was quite the keen eye. So James sent the blades of mercy away, and awaited his verdict. This line of thought turned out to be false, however, when Urahara walked over to him and plucked something off the shoulder of his coat.

"Yep! This little body scanner 'o mine should let us know who and what exactly you are!"

"So these tests-" James stammered.

"All to get my baby here to work it's magic!" he chirped, pulling another device from one of his green coat pockets and slotting the scanner into it.

The device lit up and Urahara regarded it with interest before turning back to the hunter, who now inexplicably had Yoruichi perched on his shoulder.

"So Kisuke? What's up with this guy?"

"It's James," the hunter seemed to grumble.

Unfortunately for James, Yoruichi was remembering that to bug him later.

"Well as far as I can see he is completely human except for a few small differences."

James raised an eyebrow at this and Yoruichi simply waited.

"First of all, our friend here has extraordinary physical capabilities. He probably can't hit as hard as Ichigo, but he is definitely faster."

Urahara paused at 'faster,' wincing as his many shallow cuts proved this to him.

"The other little detail is that he has no soul."

Yoruichi sat up straight at this 'little' piece of news about James. Human but no soul? How could he be alive right now, and for that matter, could he be killed if it came down to it? Yoruichi emerged from his thoughts just in time to hear James' response.

"Well of course not," came the deadpan reply, "I may not remember how exactly at the moment, but my real body is definitely residing on a higher plane of existence than this one."

"You don't happen to have a god complex, do you?" Urahara asked.

James sighed. It was a pretty far fetched now that it was said aloud, but it was the only explanation he could give with the fragments of memory from his greater existence.

"You don't happen to have any parts of an interdimensional being hanging around do you? That's how I transcended in the first place."

"Parts of a _what?_ " Urahara looked baffled for a moment and paused, but was quickly jarred out of his thoughts by an explosion of reiatsu from the Shaft, as well as panicked yells from the kids.

Now it was the hunter's turn to be confused, as the very air seemed to shake with the invisible force coming from that hole.

"Looks like we'll have to put this off a bit!" he said, dashing towards the source of power with his cane in hand.

"What the hell is that!" the hunter asked Yoruichi, who was running alongside him now on the way to the Shaft.

"Ichigo! That boy with the orange hair! He must be at the end of his chain!" He responded, "I'll explain afterwards, but right now, Tessai and Kisuke might need some help if he were to hollowif- well, go rogue!"

James didn't quite understand, but he was here to help this kid and obviously so was the cat and the eccentric man. This was a little difficult to believe in however, when a rather burly man summoned a swath of cloth to restrain Ichigo, followed immediately by pinning him with multiple large metal rods.

"Looks like Tessai has got this," says Urahara, "get back out to check on the other two, Yoruichi!"

Without a word, Yoruichi speeds up the ladder to the world above. Meanwhile, the hunter is just standing awkwardly behind Urahara. This situation was completely foreign to him, and he was sure he wasn't really needed. Suddenly, a figure shot out of the Shaft and landed a few meters away from the onlookers.

"Ah, Kurosaki?" called Urahara.

The ghastly skull-like mask that adorned Ichigo's face was suddenly smashed apart by the hilt of a broken sword. White shards falling to the ground, the boy's eyes immediately focused in on a relieved-looking Kisuke.

"You're fucking dead Hat n' Clogs." He stated.

Urahara was no longer feeling so relieved.

* * *

**AN**

**So, to start us off I realized chapter 2 had "Disclaimer: Disclaimer:" at the top. Rookie move I must admit.**

**The nature of the hunter's 'human' form will be revealed in due time. For now, I'll leave you with a bit of a teaser of what I have planned, mostly because I like leaving hints.**

***The hunter has no soul, but two bodies***

**Think on that one for a bit. I believe a few of you clever bastards will figure it out, but that's half the fun.**

**Another thing before I go however. A lot of ****Bleach** **fanfictions cover this part of the story so I'm going to take some liberty with time skips so you don't have to listen to Urahara explain how his modified senkaimon works for the 100th time and I don't have to write it. If you don't read fanfiction often, and you're gracing my infant story with your presence, first of all, thank you. Second of all, much of this info is early on in the manga and anime and is really just general knowledge that the reader knows but the good hunter might not.**

**But anyhow, **

**Thanks for reading,**

**DeadManDreaming**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN**

**This chapter is not my favourite so far, but it had to be done. Nonetheless, I hope that it is more enjoyable to read.**

**Please, enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Bloodborne and Bleach are not owned by myself, but this story and the characters I create are mine and mine alone.**

* * *

Fickle Time

It had been a few days since his trip down the Shattered Shaft, at least, he was assuming it had been a few days. Time was hard to keep track of when the sky was always blue.

Ichigo was resting on a rock near the ladder back to the shop above. He had just come off of a multi-day endurance test with Kisuke and was even ready to go a bit longer, but the shopkeeper had suggested he go visit his family before setting off to get Rukia in earnest.

"Hey, Kisuke!" Ichigo called, "Where'd you leave my body?"

Kisuke's head poked down through the hole in the ceiling, hat defying gravity as it remained firmly on his head. "It's on the futon up here!"

Ichigo waved back up in acknowledgement and made his way over to the ladder. On his way he caught another glimpse of that weirdo James that Kisuke brought in. They talked a bit and he seemed amiable enough, but the guy looked like death and at times had the conversation skills of it as well. Pretty ironic coming from a shinigami but hey, it wasn't any less accurate.

James caught Ichigo's eye and gave him a nod, which was returned. Ichigo sighed, that was exactly the kind of interaction he had come to expect. Finally arriving back up in the shop he navigated through a few rooms before he found his body, slipping back in with practiced ease.

"Alright Kisuke I'm gone."

"Wait Ichigo," came a muffled response. Kisuke came out from around the corner holding a few red balls, "I'll contact you later tonight, so keep your window open!"

Ichigo looked uncomfortably at the smiling man.

"Right."

Urahara watched as Ichigo disappeared down the street, then hopped down into the training ground.

"Already to go?" he asked James.

The hunter nodded, "Whenever it's ready, I will be as well."

"Great! Now, it is happening later tonight, so I have a special favour to ask you!"

James nodded and walked over to the green-clad man, "What did you have in mind?"

"How good is your throwing arm?

* * *

That night, or morning if you want to be picky, and about three paint balls later, James had succeeded in telling Ichigo and his friends that they had no sense of humor. Well, he also summoned them back to the shop, but really that was secondary according to Urahara. Now, all that was left was to wait outside the shop, and bring the trio into the sub-level when the portal was ready.

The first to arrive was a tall Mexican man that James remembered to be Chad. He walked up to the hunter and just looked at him for a bit. James wasn't too bothered by this, as the man was hardly sizing him up and really just seemed curious about his appearance. He furrowed his brow beneath his hat. James often forgot that the sight of a workshop hunter was rare even in Yharnam, which was mostly dominated by the church hunters, to this young man he probably looked quite bizarre.

"You a friend of Urahara's?" Asked Chad.

The hunter chuckled at this, "More like acquaintances, but in my line of work friends would be very welcome."

"What exactly is it you do? Are you part shinigami like Ichigo?"

"No. Unfortunately for me and those that have crossed me in the past, I deal in blood and knowledge."

Silence fell between the two figures outside of Urahara Shōten. The taller one sat down to wait. Luckily it didn't take long, as an orange-haired duo came jogging into view. One was obviously Ichigo, but James had never seen the other one before. Probably another friend of Ichigo's that Yoruichi was training.

Ichigo greeted the two already present, "You're here early Chad, what happened?"

"Couldn't sleep, so I was out for a walk. James threw the paint ball at me." he replied.

"You too, eh?"

The other redhead was making her way over now. From what he could gleam from Yoruichi and Ichigo she was pretty chipper.

"I'm Orihime Inoue! Nice to meet you!" she beamed.

"Hello, I'm-"

"No wait! Let me guess!" her brows came together as she thought, "You're a pirate! No, your coat makes you a samurai-pirate!"

"Ah… what?" was as all he could manage.

Ichigo saved him though, wondering out loud where another of his companions was. Ishida Uryū? This prompted Orihime to respond.

"He'll be here! I know it!"

Ichigo just shrugged, "Nah, he's probably off sewing some Quincy crests or something."

"How astute of you Kurosaki," came a voice from the street.

Ichigo turned to look over his shoulder and saw Uryū standing proud in some crazy white Quincy costume.

"I fuckin' knew it."

Uryū sneered back at him "I'll have you know that this is my hand crafted uniform in honor of the Quincy!"

"You look like you're gonna try to sell me a bible," Ichigo snickered.

Uryū pushed past his friends and into the shop, "Let's just get this show on the road! I want to show you how much stronger I am compared to you Kurosaki."

Ichigo grinned at this challenge, "Yeah right, you-"

The interruption came from the hunter this time, he gestured to follow as he walked by the Quincy, " The shopkeep is in the sub level. Since we're all so eager to go, I suggest coming with me."

James led the motley crew of friends down to where Urahara was waiting with the portal to the Soul Society. He already got the speech about the ins and outs of the faux senkaimon, and was dreading having to listen to it again, so instead he went to find Yoruichi.

A few minutes of wandering about the desert-like area, he found him sunbathing on a rock.

"Alright Yoruichi looks like we're all ready to go, dunno if you want to tell your pupils anything before we head into the dangai."

Yoruichi just leaped off, and onto James' shoulder. The hunter wasn't sure if it was really that comfortable or if Yoruichi was still keeping an eye on him, but that was neither here nor there.

"Just have to remind them to run like hell," said the cat, and James made his way over to the others.

"Alright, I can only hold this bad boy open for a few seconds, so you'd better be quick!" Urahara smiled.

"Excuse me?" Uryū questioned worriedly.

"Not an issue, just follow me and don't stop, we'll get through in time," said Yoruichi.

Ichigo stared intently at the black cat, "Did that-"

"Shut up and go Kurosaki!" yelled Uryū, plunging into the gate after Yoruichi.

The Quincy was closely followed by a baffled Ichigo, a stoic Chad, and Orihime, who was desperately trying to hide her nervousness. With a tip of his hat to the shopkeep, James took the plunge as well.

The run was mostly uneventful, since Uryū was in front it was easy for Chad to give him a boost near the exit to the dangai when it looked like he might fall behind. The end of the trip was where it got exciting, a cat and four teens were sent plummeting to the ground below when their exit appeared quite high off the ground. Yoruichi, who had managed to land gracefully, surveyed their group pulling themselves off the ground. They were down one.

Yoruichi panicked, "Where is James?"

James stood in the dangai, the precipice world as Urahara had explained it. Upon entering the tunnel littered with bones and flowing with restrictive current, he felt a sharp tug at the back of his mind, the same that screamed at him to come here in the first place he's sure. While the others ran off towards the exit, the hunter almost immediately plunged into the layers of time that made up the walls.

He felt it now. He was on the very edge of the dream, his slumbering body floating in endless space just beyond the veil of black nothing that surrounded him now. He craved it suddenly, to awaken, to go back to that place above all else and be at peace, but he fought it. He was making friends here, a new life here. What he really craved was the knowledge of what he had been, but he also knew that came with the price of not quite being human anymore.

No matter, he already wasn't, really.

Concentrating hard, the hunter pulled it all back to himself, the knowledge of the Great Ones and beyond that, the knowledge of his transcendent state. This knowledge couldn't be held by a mere human however, as he felt his bones flow and be replaced, and his mind opened into the cosmos, and the wealth of knowledge that hid behind the stars.

Suddenly he was back, and he could comprehend once more the arcane and the nature of his being. Yet, he was still James, the human. Well, not quite but that didn't really matter.

He sprinted down the hall of the dangai once again, and leapt through to join his companions. Instead of daylight however, he was greeted with a damp dark sewer.

"Salutations," he said.

Ichigo, who was the only one he recognized, spun around wide eyed, and began to babble about the stupid tunnel killing him or something. The other man, dressed in green stripes reminiscent of Urahara, yelped, then quickly fell into a ready stance to save face. The smaller one's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he promptly fell to the floor like a sack of bricks.

"Could somebody catch me up?" the hunter inquired.

* * *

**AN**

**Huzzah! Another chapter complete!**

**Mostly just the hunter getting to meet Ichigo's friends before the fun begins. Though the real interesting bit is the hunter's experience in the dangai. It seems James has recovered his memory of being a transcendent being, and all the crazy arcane knowledge that comes with it. More so, he has physically changed into a form that is still visibly human, but closer to his real body in a few ways as well.**

**Anyways, I struggle to call these 'filler' chapters as every story needs set up. Despite how much I want to I can't just keep cranking out interesting fights or lore, but the set up always makes the pay off sweeter so I think I'll live. Well thanks for reading my thoughts on this, but hey, it doesn't mean I want to write any less.**

**Thanks for reading,**

**DeadManDreaming**


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